[ethbro]

Ironically, if the owner were not in the room, I'd expect the device manufacturer would be more directly liable.

How can a homeowner be responsible for a device for which they (a) don't control the operation of & (b) don't control the software of?

At that point, whether a device captures incidental recording seems entirely under control of the manufacturer.

[fwip]

Sorry for the extreme analogy, but a gun owner is responsible if their nephew accesses their gun when they're not home.

It is not farfetched to imagine that, to be in compliance with the law, you would need to unplug your listening devices to avoid them accidentally going off.

[brlewis]

The owner of a listening device might be ignorant of audio being stored and audited by human listeners. It's farfetched to think a gun owner might be ignorant of a gun's dangers because they didn't read the terms of service in detail.

[iamnotacrook]

So I buy one of these things; install it; put it online, but i'm not responsible for it? I don't understand. Would you be happy with that defence from a hotel if your wife stayed in a hotel room and was killed by carbon monoxide from a faulty heater?